Valentina Caseli

Amine oxidases are enzymes belonging to the class of oxidoreductases that are widespread, from bacteria to humans. The amine oxidase from Lathyrus cicera has recently appeared in the landscape of biocatalysis, showing good potential in the green synthesis of aldehydes. This enzyme catalyzes the oxidative deamination of a wide range of primary amines into the corresponding aldehydes but its use as a biocatalyst is challenging due to the possible inactivation that might occur at high product concentrations. Here, we show that the enzyme’s performance can be greatly improved by immobilization on solid supports. The best results are achieved using amino-functionalized magnetic microparticles: the immobilized enzyme retains its activity, greatly improves its thermostability (4 h at 75 °C), and can be recycled up to 8 times with a set of aromatic ethylamines. After the last reaction cycle, the overall conversion is about 90% for all tested substrates, with an aldehyde production ranging between 100 and 270 mg depending on the substrate used. As a proof concept, one of the aldehydes thus produced was successfully used for the biomimetic synthesis of a non-natural benzylisoquinoline alkaloid.